


French Press

by aleclightwoodisbetterthanyou (bowtiewontlie)



Series: Looking-Glass 'Verse [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Background Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood, M/M, it kind of got away from me, lots of boy kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:56:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7057099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowtiewontlie/pseuds/aleclightwoodisbetterthanyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“By the angel, Alec, Simon Lewis is the most annoying person to walk the face of this planet,” Jace told his best friend and adoptive brother as they walked down the hallway of the Institute toward the library. “I mean, he was bad enough before, when he was just that annoying customer who came to Java Jace every day and filled my suggestion box with requests for a friggin French press. But now? Now that Izzy’s dating Clary, I have to see him ALL THE TIME because Clary can’t go ANYWHERE without her best friend. It’s seriously killing me man.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	French Press

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sort of prequel scene to Coffee. There's really no plot. It's just the scene that Izzy mentions where she walked in on Jace and Simon. I don't even know what I'm doing here. This is my first attempt at writing Jimon, so let me know what you think.
> 
> I plan on writing more scenes in this 'verse, at least a Malec scene and probably some more Clizzy stuff, but it will be sporadic and kind of all over the place with no real through-line as of yet. Maybe eventually, but I don't really know.
> 
> Anyway... thanks for all the love on Coffee and I hope you enjoy this! And if you want to hit me up on Tumblr, I'm aleclightwoodisbetterthanyou.
> 
> UPDATE:: This fic has now been translated into Russian by the lovely [a_lassombra](http://archiveofourown.org/users/a_lassombra). You can check it out [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/4876382).

“By the angel, Alec, Simon Lewis is the most annoying person to walk the face of this planet,” Jace told his best friend and adoptive brother as they walked down the hallway of the Institute toward the library. “I mean, he was bad enough before, when he was just that annoying customer who came to Java Jace every day and filled my suggestion box with requests for a friggin French press. But now? Now that Izzy’s dating Clary, I have to see him ALL THE TIME because Clary can’t go ANYWHERE without her best friend. It’s seriously killing me man.”

Alec laughed and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jace, he’s not that bad. He’s actually kind of nerd hot, if you’re into that kind of thing.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Jace said, wounded. He clasped his hand over his heart. He knew it was a tad dramatic, but was he really the only person who had a problem with this guy?

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” Alec said with a smirk and it was Jace’s turn to roll his eyes. “And seriously, we’ve dealt with far worse hangers-on with the people you’ve dated.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Jace raised an eyebrow. “First, nerd boy is totally not my type. And second, who have I forced you to hang out with that’s worse than him?”

“How long of a list do you want?” Alec asked. “There was the girl with the scary knife collection who was best friends with that actress you dated. Then there was the dude who was obsessed with worms who was the brother of the guy you dated with the neck tattoo. And of course, who can forget Meliorn’s bestie with the habit of falling asleep in random places in the Institute, like the kitchen table, and the doorway to my bedroom. The fact that you and Izzy both dated Meliorn still totally weirds me out, by the way. Must I go on?”

“Fine, fine, I get it,” Jace waved his hand at the taller boy. “I’ve made some terrible choices. Apparently Simon Lewis is my punishment.”

Alec said something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “You’d love to be punished by him” and Jace almost choked.

“What?” he demanded.

“What are we looking for in the library?” Alec asked, changing the subject, and Jace was very okay with that. Simon Lewis had taken up enough of their time today.

“Maryse said there might be a copy of that Alice in Wonderland book in here. Izzy said Val wants the theme of the big anniversary party to be ‘Through the Looking-Glass’ and he put her in charge of planning everything, I guess. She’s kind of freaking because it’s a lot of pressure, so I said I’d help with food and drinks. I think she was going to ask you to help with decorations and stuff.”

A grin spread its way across Alec’s face. Everyone knew that Alec loved to plan a party, and planning one for Valentine Morgenstern, one of the most powerful men in the technology industry, was huge. Jace knew he would be ecstatic at the opportunity. “Oh hells yes,” he said, confirming Jace’s prediction, and pushed open the door to the library.

Alec walked in first and stopped, bringing his hand up to muffle the laughter escaping from his mouth. 

Jace stopped behind Alec, looking around his shoulder to follow his line of sight. “Damn it,” he said under his breath. “Doesn’t this guy have a freaking home?” There was Simon Lewis, curled up in one of the Institute’s big leather chairs. He had a book in his lap, but his head dangled limply, glasses falling almost completely off his sleeping face. Jace most certainly did not think it was cute. 

“Not funny, Alec,” he said, straight-faced. “Let’s just be really quiet and maybe we can make it out of here before he wakes up.”

Alec chuckled and shook his head but he agreed and they both walked quietly into the library. Everything was silent for all of 45 seconds before Alec’s phone started blaring Meghan Trainor’s “NO” at full volume.

“Shit!” Alec whispered as he fumbled to pull his phone out of his pocket. 

At the same time, Jace heard a yelp as Simon jerked awake and the book in his lap fell on the floor. Jace watched as he barely caught himself from falling out of the chair and did not have to stifle a grin.

Jace turned and glared at Alec who had successfully silenced the call. He looked at his brother sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s Raj. He makes some excuse to call me at least once a day.” His phone started ringing again in his hand and he quickly silenced it. “And he won’t stop until I answer. Sorry, Jace. Bring the book to me in my room when you find it.”

Alec turned and walked toward the door. “You really need to cut that string, man,” Jace called after him. It really was sad how Raj trailed after Alec like a little lost puppy, hoping against hope that someday Alec would choose him. 

Alec sighed, “I know I do. And I will. He’s just so sweet and he tries so hard. I feel bad breaking his heart.” His phone started ringing a third time and he answered it as he walked out the door. “Hey Raj, what’s up, man?”

Once Alec was gone, Jace turned back toward Simon, who had picked the book up off the ground and righted himself in the chair, but still looked slightly bewildered.

“Jace?” he asked and then looked around, undoubtedly realizing where he was. “Oh, right, I’m in the Institute.”

“Where else would you be that I would walk in on you sleeping?” Jace asked sarcastically.

“Depends if this is a dream or not.”

Jace quirked an eyebrow, “You’re having dreams about me now, Lewis?”

“What? No!” Simon protested but his face flushed and Jace definitely did not find that interesting.

Alec may have thought Simon was nerd-hot, but Jace entirely disagreed. He supposed some people thought the Buddy Holly look was hot, dark-framed glasses, skinny jeans that left nothing to the imagination. And the t-shirts he wore were obviously bought a size too small in order to show off his biceps and impossibly flat stomach. And he supposed people would find it endearing that he always wore his dad’s dog tags. Other people might even find him adorable right now, sleep-rumpled, all soft edges and eyes that weren’t quite fully open yet. And flush that had taken over his neck and face. Some people probably thought all that pale skin was a blessing, unable to hide anything. But Jace never thought about any of that. He especially didn’t dream about sucking bruises onto that pale neck that lasted for days.

It was embarrassing how much other people probably thought about Simon. Jace shook his head for them and cleared his throat. “What are you doing here, anyway?” he asked and turned toward the wall, starting his search at a random place on the wall of the library.

“Clary and I were over here talking to the manager of this bar nearby, trying to see if we could hook Intergalactic Owl Race up with a gig. And, you know, since we were nearby, Clary wanted to stop by and ‘talk’ to Izzy,” Simon explained, “which is why I’m hanging out in the library by myself.”

“Intergalactic Owl Race? Is that what you’re calling yourselves now?” Jace laughed, shooting him a glance over his shoulder. Simon’s band went through names like dirty underwear. It was part of their charm, he supposed, but didn’t really give them the opportunity to promote themselves. 

Simon grinned and Jace’s heart definitely did not stutter like other people’s might. “Yeah, Champagne Enema wasn’t really working for us. We’ll see how this one goes.” Simon got up from the chair, then, and came to stand by Jace. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

Jace stepped closer to the wall, to examine the spine of a book he thought might be it, not having anything to do with the shorter man standing next to him. “Maryse said we have a copy of Through the Looking-Glass in here somewhere. Izzy and Alec need it to help them plan this party for Val.”

“Oh yeah, Clary mentioned something about that,” Simon said and then moved closer to Jace again. “Let me help you look.”

“Fine,” Jace said, moving away again. “You look here. I’m going to look on this wall over here.”

“Cool, cool,” said Simon, and Jace hoped that would be the end of it. They could search quietly by themselves on opposite sides of the library. Of course, this was Simon he was talking about, so that was not going to happen. “Oh hey,” he called from the section he was searching through, “I was reading this article the other day about the health benefits of French Press coffee versus traditional drip-brew coffee. It was actually really interesting. Did you know that coffee filters actually filter out some of the really important things you can get from coffee?”

Jace attempted to zone out, forcing himself to continue searching for the book instead of feeding into what was undoubtedly a conversation meant to get a rise out of him. Simon’s obsession with getting a French Press at Java Jace was ridiculous. Jace served lattes and macchiatos and cappuccinos and so many other things, but the only thing Simon seemed to care about was that there was no French Press. He made it sound like it was the worst tragedy in the world. And he was always coming up with new reasons why it was important or how it would help Jace’s business. Sometimes Jace wondered if Simon would have anything to talk about anymore if he broke down and bought one for the truck. But no, knowing Simon, he would come up with some other ridiculous thing that he thought Jace just had to have.

Suddenly Simon stopped talking, seemingly mid-sentence. “Oh, hey, Jace, look!” Jace turned around to face him. “I found it!”

Jace sighed in relief. Thank goodness. Now he could go find Alec and vent some more about how annoying Simon was being. He walked over to Simon and took the book from him, absolutely not feeling a warm tingle when their hands brushed. “Thanks,” he said opening the book to check it out. 

“You’re welcome,” Simon replied, looking over the top of the book to check it out. “Oh man, it’s illustrated! That’s super cool! That will be really helpful to Alec planning the decorations.”

Jace nodded his agreement, flipping absently through the pages and looking at the pictures. He certainly could not feel how close Simon was, his breath moving the hair that had fallen forward into Jace’s face.

“Did I ever tell you about my uncle who’s an illustrator?” Simon was talking again and Jace couldn’t take it anymore. “Now there is a man who loves a French Press—“

Jace leaned forward and pressed his lips to Simon’s, cutting off what was sure to be another ridiculous tale of the benefits of French Press coffee. It was a quick kiss, just a smash of lips before Jace realized what he was doing and pulled away. And gloriously, Simon seemed to be speechless. For a few seconds at least.

“What was that for?” he asked, a smile quirking on his lips.

Jace ignored the racing of his heart that was definitely not because he’d just kissed Simon. “I just wanted you to shut up,” he said as sarcastically as he could. “I didn’t know how else to do it.”

Simon smirked and looked directly into Jace’s eyes, which did not make the room suddenly too warm. “In that case,” Simon said calmly, “the French Press was actually patented by an Italian designer named Attilio Calimani in 1929, and not by a Frenchman—“

Jace closed the book at and let it fall to the floor, using both hands to grasp the sides of Simon’s face, pressing their lips together again. This time, he didn’t stop. 

He could feel Simon grinning into the kiss, as if he was gloating at somehow having won. Jace would not stand for that. He slid his hands from Simon’s face to his shoulders, using the better leverage to push him backwards. Simon gasped slightly as his back hit the wall of books behind him and Jace took the opportunity to suck Simon’s lower lip into his mouth and bite it. 

Simon’s gasp turned into a moan and it was Jace’s turn to be smug. He released Simon’s lip and they twined their tongues together. Jace released his grip on Simon’s shoulders, letting his hands slide down to hold onto the other man’s biceps. He felt Simon’s hands on his hips, thumbs sneaking up under the hem of his shirt to press against his hip bones and Jace wished they would go higher. He wanted to feel those calloused fingers exploring his bare chest.

He barely had time to think it, however, before he was being pushed backward. His feet moved automatically, keeping him upright, his lips still locked to Simon’s as the smaller man pushed him across the room, guiding him until the backs of his legs hit something soft and he fell, breaking the kiss as his butt hit the chair that Simon had been sleeping in earlier. 

They only lost contact for a second before Simon crawled on top of Jace, squeezing his knees into the chair on either side of Jace’s thighs. He grinned wickedly and leaned back in to capture Jace’s mouth, hands pressed into the chair on either side of his head.

For a moment Jace thought that this was a position he could get used to. He twined his hands around Simon’s waist, pushing them up under the back of his shirt to spread out over his back, feeling the heat rising off of him. Simon gasped into his mouth at the contact and it spurred Jace into action. He ran his hands down slowly and then grabbed the hem of Simon’s shirt, breaking their kiss and pulling it up over his head and only slightly getting caught on the dog tags hanging around his neck. He threw the shirt on the floor and slid his hands down Simon’s now bare chest, his hands and eyes admiring the definition of his abs before looking back into the deep brown pupil-blown eyes above him. 

Simon’s hands had returned to their place on Jace’s shoulders, but now they pulled at the hem of his shirt. Jace lifted his arms to allow Simon to peel the shirt off and throw it onto the floor next to his own. Then he wrapped his arms around him again, pressing their bare chests together, feeling the cold bite of Simon’s dog tags against his skin. Simon brought his mouth back down to Jace’s, kissing him forcefully, and Jace took the opportunity to wrap his hands underneath Simon’s thighs and lift him up, standing up from the chair.

It would have been really smooth if it had worked and Jace had been able to maneuver Simon onto the couch nearby, but his balance was off and he almost lost his grip as the two of them toppled onto the floor. 

Simon laughed, lying half on top of him, still somehow triumphant. He half rolled half climbed until he was on top of Jace again, half-heartedly pinning him to the floor. He grinned widely and then leaned in to kiss Jace softly. It was very different from the rest of their kisses, less fighting for dominance and more tenderness, as if Simon actually cared about Jace. It was almost relaxing, in a weird sort of way. Jace could actually see himself doing this more often. It made it feel like there was no pressure, just this feeling of comfort.

Then Simon nipped at Jace’s bottom lip and it sent a shock all the way down Jace’s spine and pulled him out of his thoughts. He took the adrenaline supplied by that shock and used it to break their kiss and roll them over until Simon was underneath him. He grabbed Simon’s wrists and pinned them to the ground above his head. He smirked and leaned down, just out of reach of Simon’s lips, the smaller man tilting his head to reach up for them. Instead Jace leaned down and nipped at his jaw, and then his neck, and when Simon moaned underneath him, he ground their bodies together, sucking a bruise just above his collar bone, giving in to the desire to mark up that beautiful pale skin. 

He was so distracted by everything that was happening that he didn’t even hear the door open until he heard Isabelle’s voice exclaiming, “BY THE ANGEL! MY EYES!”

He broke away from Simon’s neck with a soft pop, looking up at his adopted sister standing in the doorway covering her eyes with her hands. “What do you want, Izzy?” he asked gruffly, his voice hoarse from desire.

“Is Clary ready to go?” Simon’s voice sounded rough, too. Jace looked down and saw that he had his head bent back, looking at Isabelle upside-down from his place underneath him. 

“Yes,” Isabelle said, still covering her eyes. “She wants you to meet her outside.” 

“Okay,” Simon said, and then tapped Jace with one of the hands he had wrapped around his back, spurring him to stand up and pull Simon to his feet. “I’ll be there in a sec,” he told Isabelle and then walked over to pick their shirts up off the floor, throwing Jace’s at him.

“Great,” she said grumpily, “now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go wash my eyes out with bleach.” She turned around then, not uncovering her eyes until she was fully facing away from them, and walked out the door.

Jace pulled his shirt on and looked at Simon awkwardly, still processing what had just happened. Simon, for once, didn’t seem awkward or uncomfortable at all. He just walked straight over to Jace and wrapped his arms around his neck and pulling him down for a tender kiss.

He pulled back, looking intently into Jace’s eyes. Jace could feel his heart racing in his chest. Then Simon whispered, “Does this mean you’re finally going to buy me a French Press?”

Jace laughed and pulled Simon close, kissing him chastely before pushing him away. “We’ll see,” he said and then turned Simon toward the door and smacking him playfully on the ass. “Now you better get out of here before Clary drives off in your van without you.”

Simon shot a grin at Jace over his shoulder as he walked toward the door and said, “To be continued,” before pushing through it.

Jace smiled to himself. Okay, so maybe Simon was kind of hot.


End file.
